How to have less pain and more joy in labor and birth with 5 easy steps
Many still believe that labor and childbirth will be a hard, painful, and difficult road, but the journey to birth doesn’t have to be. It can be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Birth is safe and can even be ENJOYABLE!
Of course birth is happy, you are meeting your beautiful child for the first time, but it can be happy and pain-free. Make the journey to that first moment with your baby just as memorable and joyful. Let’s take a look at the sensations and physiology of labor and childbirth before jumping into 5 ways to make your labor less painful and more enjoyable.
Sensations of childbirth
What has your mind taught you about the sensations of childbirth? Let’s talk about mindset. Throughout our entire lives we have been programmed and conditioned to believe that childbirth is a painful process. These lessons come from movies, books, religion, families and friend’s stories, and many more places. If we start to change the stories we are told, our expectations for our body throughout birth will change too.
Your mind has the power to change this narrative. Research what childbirth is like in other countries, cultures and traditions. There are methods to birthing that use your innate strengths while changing your perceptions of birth that unfold in a completely pain-free and even pleasurable experience! Many of these methods lean into the natural abilities of your body, allowing you to understand the power you hold all while transforming that knowledge into a calm and peaceful birth.
muscles in labor and birth
Our bodies muscles are constantly contracting as we live out our day to day lives. Think about it. Are you in pain every time your heart beats? Your lungs expand and release? When you digest food? Okay, sometimes when you digest food. Back to my point, labor contractions are simply muscle movements in your uterus. In fact, orgasms are a type of muscle contraction and we want to have those!
As long as your muscles have the oxygen and nutrients to fire up and move, they should not be in pain. If you can remember this and change your minds programming to childbirth as a muscle movement it can help you enjoy labor.
The animal world and birth
Look to the animal world. Mammals do not have this fear of childbirth, they trust their bodies and instinctively give birth without assistance or taking childbirth classes. Their bodies naturally tell them to seek a calm, dark environment free from predators (read: stressors). And then, they breathe through the process.
If you look to nature, you can find so many parallels between what women instinctively do to relieve tension and stress through childbirth and what animals do too.
The 5 key ingredients to a joyful birth
You can have a completely unique, beautiful, and easier childbirth if you follow these 5 steps. Practice comfort measures often throughout your pregnancy, these give you confidence and prepare your body for labor sensations. Use and practice breathing techniques. These will support you as you focus through contractions and make the birthing phase less stressful. Focus on mindfulness, addressing your fears and visualizing the joyfulness will help you achieve it. Set up your environment! Making your space feel calm, safe, and designed for your needs will comfort you through labor. And finally, the 5th way to make your labor and birth experience more joyful is fuel. Hydration and nutrition are essential to maintaining your energy and keeping your muscles functioning properly.
You can utilize these steps in any type of birth whether its at home, a hospital, unmedicated, with an epidural, and planned or even emergent cesarean birth. The 5 key factors in having a more enjoyable birth are: practicing comfort measures, breath-work, positive mindset, setting up your environment, and fuel. All of these elements work together to get you the birth you desire with happiness and health.
an enjoyable labor starts with being comfortable
Comfort measures are essential to staying calm, reducing sensations of surges (contractions), and continuing to progress through labor. Many parents think, “oh, I don’t need to practice coping mechanisms for pain because I will be getting an epidural.” They are not wrong in thinking that the epidural will numb them enough to take away labor sensations, but it is also not 100% correct.
epidurals as comfort in childbirth
See for those who go into spontaneous labor, not being induced or planning a cesarean, you will feel contractions at some point. Even if you don’t use them or only use one, it’s important to have positions and movements in your tool belt that provide comfort and relief before an epidural is available.
The other thing to keep in mind when planning to utilize an epidural is that others at the hospital will also want an epidural. It is important to remember there are emergencies that call anesthesiologists away, other birthing families may have requested an epidural before you, and there are standard procedures at most hospitals meaning it will still take about 30 minutes from the time you request an epidural until the time you feel relief.
Practice comfort measures to make the journey leading up to that epidural comfortable and relaxing.
types of comfort measures
What do some of these comfort measures look like? I’m glad you asked. There are great positions and movements that take pressure off of different areas of your body. Some of these just take the edge off, where others, can eliminate the discomfort completely.
Practice comfort measures throughout your pregnancy. You will find these support and relieve common pregnancy pains and will be your go-to’s during labor. Get into a focus, find your breathing pattern, and stay in these positions for a few minutes as if you were having a contraction and then relaxing in between. This will prepare you for the rhythms of labor, making it easier for you to slip into the zone.
ways to stay comfortable
Hydrotherapy- using a bath tub or shower can reduce intense sensations
Positions- upright positions use gravity to put pressure on your cervix
Standing, swaying, sitting on a birth ball
Movements- open your pelvis, reduce intense sensations
Lunges, Cat/Cow’s yoga pose, walking
Counter pressures- release tension, take pressure off regions of your body
Double-Hip squeeze, tailbone pressure, thigh squeeze
Every great athlete knows that practice is the key to success. Birth is so much more than a sporting event, but to improve your comfort it takes an athletes determination and focused practice.
the importance of breath in labor and birth
Your ability to change your breathing patterns is one of the most important tools to ever learn as a human. This is useful for all areas of your life from controlling emotions, exercising, talking, to giving birth. When you access this powerful tool of your breath, your perception can change, your physiology can change, and you will have the ability to handle whatever life puts in your path!
Conquering your breath can take your pain away and improve the muscular action of the uterus. Breath is used to focus through contractions and to assist your baby traveling down the birth canal. Most women with an epidural are coached to use their breath as momentous power that sends their baby out into the world.
There are many different breathing patterns to use throughout your life, but many different childbirth education curriculums talk about three specific to labor and birth. Those include a regular or slow breathing pattern, a challenging or contraction/surge breathing pattern, and a birth breathing pattern. These can all be utilized in everyday life, but are paramount to having a happier, more enjoyable and satisfying birth. Practice, practice, practice!
breathing patterns
Slow or normal breathing: This brings in calm to your body and mind. It allows for your blood to carry oxygen efficiently and excrete CO2. This breathing is close to your normal breathing but emphasizes taking a shorter breath in for 4-6 seconds, a short pause and then a longer exhale, about 8 seconds. As you continue to practice, your ability to expand your breaths will increase.
Surge or challenging breathing: The ideal breath pattern for difficult contractions is long and slow. Breathe in for 20 seconds and breathe out for 20 seconds. The idea is to take long slow breaths. For a contraction lasting about a minute, you can aim for 4-5 breaths that get you to the peak.
Birth breathing: This will look different if you are unmedicated or have an epidural. You can practice these every time you have a bowel movement. Releasing tension throughout your pelvic floor and breathing down, sending all your energy through and out your bottom.
As your breathing practice progresses, so will your abilities. Do not underestimate the power that active and focused breathing plays in your life, but especially for a happy and healthy birth.
Mindfulness for an enjoyable labor
When your mind is at ease, your body follows. Addressing concerns and anxieties early on in pregnancy and maintaining your healthy and positive mindset allows labor to begin uninhibited and progress with confidence. Your body reacts to your thoughts! Knowing you are safe, excited, and ready to meet your baby tells your body to proceed.
Establishing this peace of mind is not always easy. I recommend talking about your fears with trusted friends or a mental health professional. Try doing a fear release meditation, you will be surprised at how relaxed and stress-free you feel after completing it.
Common Example: many folks have heightened fears and anxieties regarding the pushing phase or the actual exit of your baby through the birth passage of your vaginal opening. As a doula, I see this as the most common fear, tearing at the time of birth. This can prevent moms from pushing effectively. It can also cause more damage than if you were unafraid. When our bodies are fearful we tense up, tighten muscles, and restrict blood flow to non-vital organs. In breathing through this fear, welcoming your baby with love rather than fear, blood and oxygen will flow to these necessary regions, stretching for baby rather than tearing flesh. Remember, breath from step 2 is extremely helpful.
Working through your fears and slowly building up the idea that birth is safe and normal can help to establish a new thought pattern in your mind. Find affirmations that work for you! These can add to your perfect environment in the next step.
your perfect environment for labor and birth
You may have heard people talk about having limited control in birth. Your body does hold the reigns, however, you can decide the environment you wish to labor in. Bring your child into the world in a place of your choosing. Create the smells, energy, family, and feelings that your baby will arrive to.
Think about what maintains calm and peace in your everyday life. This might be music, dimmed lights, or a candle going. These items can all be used throughout your labor to establish a feeling of love and peace for you to labor in. For some, having more dance party music or a favorite movie playing in the background can be soothing. It’s important to realize that your daily comforts generally provide that same comfort and security while you are in labor.
Choosing the space as well as the people in it is just as important and almost even more crucial. Family and friends can be well intentioned, but not everyone has the energy and qualities you are looking for in a labor companion and support. Think to yourself who would actually be helpful and who you can be 100% yourself with. There is no room to perform or hold back in labor, so it is okay to have some of your loved ones hang out in the waiting room.
You have the power to set up your space whether that be at home, a hospital, or a birth center. Bring your coziest blankets, hang soothing and comforting photos or affirmations, make the space have the energy you need and deserve!
Fuel your body for labor
This element may differ based on your providers expectations and based on medications you may take throughout your labor. That being said, staying hydrated and fueled are essential to labor progression.
During labor, your body is putting tremendous effort in, whether you are feeling it or not. Maintaining fluids and proper nutrition fuels your muscles so they can work hard and bring your baby earth side.
Bring with bite size snacks, so that you have time to eat between surges without fear for lack of time. Choose items that stabilize your blood sugar: proteins and carbs together. As a doula, some of the favorites I have seen are Epic protein bars, trail mix, banana bread, and mini charcuterie boards!
When it comes to hydration, bring with your favorite electrolyte mixes. Hospitals often offer gatorades, ginger ales, and various fruit juices, but be prepared they may not have your favorites.
If you are choosing to use an epidural for pain management, plan to switch your diet to clear liquids only. Grab your favorite electrolyte drinks, coconut water, or bone broth! These will help you feel full and energized.
Keep in mind that nausea is a common feeling throughout labor. Eat and drink when you feel hungry and thirsty, but don’t force yourself to eat if it doesn’t feel right. Hydration and fuel will keep you energized and progressing smoothly.
Keys to a joyful and pain-free birth
Tying these 5 factors together: Comfort measures, breathing, mindfulness, your environment, and fuel will help you get the birth you desire with more joy, confidence, and comfort with less pain, fear, and suffering. Practice is key to attaining the birth you want no matter what road your labor takes.
If you are reading this at 40 weeks, do not fret. These ideas are to make your labor easier, know that your body knows how to bring your baby into this world. Remember to trust yourself through the process!
These 5 key steps will help you make the most out of your birth experience and arrive into parenthood with greater satisfaction and confidence.